MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—The Barry University Buccaneers journey up to St. Petersburg, Fla., on Saturday, Jan. 16 to take on the Eckerd College Tritons at 2:00 pm in Sunshine State Conference women's basketball action in the McArthur Center.
The Bucs (10-5, 3-3 SSC) split with the Tritons (8-5, 4-3 SSC) last season, with each team winning on the road. Barry prevailed 53-44 in St. Petersburg, while the Tritons left Miami Shores with a 60-51 win. The Bucs captured the rubber game in the semifinals of the conference tournament, winning 61-59 in overtime. The Bucs hold a 37-20 edge in the series, having won four of the last five.
The Bucs enter the contest in need of a win, after dropping two of their last three games. The Tritons, coming off a win over Lynn, have also dropped two of three. Barry is third in the SSC in scoring at 69.9 points per game, while the Tritons are fifth at 64.5. Defensively, the Tritons are second in the league, allowing just 59.2 points per game, while Barry is fourth at 61.7. The Bucs are third in scoring margin (+8.3), followed by the Tritons in fourth (+5.4). Barry is just 1-3 on the road. Eckerd is 4-2 at home.
The senior trio of Amra Elezovic, Jackie Perez and Ines Kerin, continue to lead the Bucs. Elezovic is tops on the squad with 15.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and shoots 90.4 percent from the line. She is third in the league in scoring, fifth in rebounding and second in the SSC in free throw percentage.
Guards Kerin and Perez chip in 13.2 and 10.7 points per game respectively. They rank first and third in three-point percentage at 47.7 and 42.7 percent. Kerin (2.8) is first and Perez (2.5) is tied for second in made three-pointers per game. Perez also leads the team with 3.6 assists per game, while Kerin adds 2.8.
Fellow senior Irene Sanchez is third on the team in rebounding (5.3) and assists (2.7) while averaging 9.6 points per game. Kim Flournoy, another senior, chips in 4.7 points and 5.4 rebounds to go along with her team-high 2.1 steals per game. Flournoy is third in the SSC in steals.
The Tritons are led by junior guard Victoria Vines, junior forward Ashley Folsom and senior guard Margaret Sundberg. Vines averages 11.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Folsom, the 6-3 Southern Mississippi transfer, chips in 11.3 points and 4.5 rebounds off the bench. Sundberg, who leads the conference in playing time, adds 10.6 points and a team best 2.9 assists per game. Sophomore guard Kacie Juday, from D-I Stony Brook, leads the team in rebounding at 7.0 boards per game.
The game will be carried on both the Buccaneer Broadcasting Network, with an audio call, and the Tritons Sports Network, with a pay-per-view video feed. Live stats are also available.
